He Sees Colors When He Hears Your Voice

Andrew McMahon in a scene from the "Synesthesia" video.

Singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon was in the hospital battling leukemia around 2005 when he first heard the word: synesthesia.

Another patient in the hospital had acquired the cross-sensory trait, as sometimes happens, during brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The young man could suddenly see color that wasn't there before. He became an artist, sharing his visions with the public. Though Andrew lost track of his fellow patient, he never forgot him.

The former member of the bands Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate made a note in the journal he keeps full of his inspirations for future lyrics: synesthesia.

Blessedly, Andrew recovered and has been in remission for eight years. Not long ago, writing music to strike out as a solo act, he went into the studio with his producer to lay down the first tracks of what would become the EP "Pop Underground," which he released in April. They were trying to come up with a compelling chorus when Andrew remembered the young man from the hospital and the note in his journal. Suddenly, the inspired lyrics came out:

And I see colors when I hear your voice

Put on your wings that put gravity on trial

And I see colors, I don't hear the noise

Because we're only flying for a while

Because we're only flying for a while

It made the song soar and the piece would become the first release from the EP on June 13.

Here is the song and the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfm1Gvlz12U

I was fortunate to interview the talented and warm Andrew today and ask him how they managed to get such beautifully-lit, motile color into the scenes of the video featuring him. So many representations of synesthesia by non-synesthetes fall short. This doesn't. That story was as profound as the inspiration for the song.

The art for "Synesthesia," by Andrew McMahon.

"My cousins were the minds behind the effects," he explained. His cousins are the sons of his beloved, late uncle to whom he was very close and who inspired him to go into music in the first place. A successful entrepreneur in the video industry, his uncle had won many trophies over the years. To get the prismatic effect used in the video, his cousins used the trophies, glinting in the light shone on the set.

He's enjoying life as a solo act so far and says, "I have all these songs that I've traveled with all these years and it's good to perform them again... the fans that have known me from the start have been very supportive and coming out to the shows." His tour dates can be found here: http://www.andrewmcmahon.com/tour/

It would be great if synesthetes at his tour stops could carry signs and represent the Rainbow Tribe in the crowd. I told Andrew that there's been a great deal of buzz in our community about the new song and he was very moved.

"It's so cool to know that I've touched people that way who are really synesthetes."

Singer Andrew McMahon.

In July 2006, McMahon founded a non-profit charity, entitled The Dear Jack Foundation, to raise funds for cancer research. The organization's primary beneficiaries are the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the regents of the University of California, Los Angeles. Their website is here: http://www.dearjackfoundation.com/foundation/

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